Success Reimagined: How My Leadership Journey Took a Different Path

When I started my career more than 25 years ago, my definition of success was clear: earn an executive role within a large health system before starting a family. I believed—like many ambitious professionals—that once I had children, my time, pace, and career trajectory would inevitably shift. So I set my sights early on the proverbial career ladder: start at the bottom, work hard, climb steadily, reach the top. Success felt linear. Predictable. Final.

But life, as it often does, introduced a different path.

At 30, I started my family, and with that season came a shift—not just in priorities, but in perspective. What I initially thought might slow my career actually expanded my leadership. I gained something I might have otherwise missed: depth.

I grew beyond being known primarily as a turnaround leader. I developed the leadership muscle required to build and sustain teams. My experience expanded as I navigated acquisitions, system implementations, layoffs, loss, consolidations, failures, and large-scale technology transformations. These moments didn’t just shape my career—they shaped who I became as a leader.

Looking back, I realize I exited the freeway of professional growth and onto what felt like the feeder road. At the time, it seemed slower. Less direct. But in reality, it offered something more meaningful: perspective, maturity, and purpose.

Along the way, my definition of success became more nuanced—more complex, yet more interconnected.

Success now means understanding how God is calling me to show up each day and leading in a way that honors my values while supporting others on their journey.

Success is taking an idea and bringing it to life in a way that genuinely changes people’s lives.

Success is yes, the title—but more importantly, working alongside leaders who are aligned in mission, vision, and values.

Success is partnering with individuals who may not always agree with you, or even like you, but respect you enough to find common ground.

Success is embracing authenticity while remaining open to growth and evolution.

Today, success feels less like a destination and more like alignment between faith, leadership, purpose, and impact.

And perhaps the greatest realization of all: The path that once felt slower wasn’t a detour at all.

It was the road that made me the leader I was meant to become.